There is a great need to decrease the cost of handling mail by the postal service, particularly in large metropolitan areas. To this end, there have been devised a number of automated devices for sorting, stacking, and otherwise handling mail pieces to meet certain preselected requirements. The present invention is directed to that class of apparatus which positions flat mail pieces in response to the location of the postage indicia and stacks the mail pieces into postal trays with all pieces similarly aligned. The prior art devices for sorting mail in response to the location of postage indicia have been unduly complex, expensive, or otherwise unsatisfactory. The disclosures of the following U.S. patents are representative of such devices: